Published in Family Building Magazine (a RESOLVE publication) (Fall 2006 issue)

For thousands of years, Chinese herbs have helped couples have healthy babies. In 3494 BCE, Emperor Shen Nung began experimenting with herbs and recording valuable information on their medicinal properties. Over the next 5000 years, herbal practitioners contributed to NungÕs records and established a wealth of knowledge revealing the power of Chinese herbal medicine. Today over 10,000 substances make up the Chinese herbal pharmacopoeia which has proven particularly effective for enhancing fertility.

If you are having difficulty conceiving, it may be due to deficiency, excess, or stagnation of energy which can be diagnosed by a Chinese Medicine practitioner after comprehensive exam. Balance may be restored through the appropriate combination of 8-20 herbs prescribed for your condition. Components of fertility formulas are derived from roots, bark, leaves, flowers and fruits and may be taken in the form of pills, tablets, granules or decoctions (teas). A typical course of treatment for enhancing fertility involves taking medicinal herbs daily for at least 3 months, roughly the time of a complete cycle of maturation of both eggs and sperm.

Used to enhance fertility and prevent miscarriage, Chinese herbs help regulate the menstrual cycle, overcome hormonal imbalances, decrease immune system incompatibilities, relieve stress-related dysfunction, and improve sperm count, motility, and morphology. When used with Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) and fertility drugs, herbs can minimize negative side effects and toxicity from drug therapy without potentiating the drugs. In addition, herbs strengthen and balance general health resulting in increased healthy pregnancies with IVF procedures.

Clinical studies conducted in China indicate that about 70% of all cases of infertility (male and female) treated with Chinese herbs resulted in pregnancy or restored fertility. Success rates range from about 50% to over 90% depending on types of infertility treated and the particular study. Used alone or with ART, Chinese Herbs can improve fertility and increase chances of healthy pregnancies.